I guess that most of you have already bought a hard copy or downloaded a digital copy of The Mahones 8th studio album “The Hunger & The Fight Part 1”. The album was officially released last October 7th on iTunes and Amazon and the CD copies were available last October 14th (East Grand Records, USA) and last October 31st (Wolverine Records, Europe and ROW). But long before those official dates, reviews of The Mahones first chapter of their double concept album were posted on a lot of Celtic punk or punk e-zines. The vast majority of these reviews have listed the album as a 5 stars, 10/10 or the best album in their career. Given that all of you have already read those reviews, I feel that I should play the devil’s advocate role and write about the lights on the album, but also about its shadows. Some people will feel that this is a sacrilege.

I have given quite a few spins to “The Hunger & The Fight Part 1” and my concern was if I could find a different approach to write about it. On the press release it was stated “The Mahones are thrilled to present the first part of their epic double album, The Hunger & The Fight. A concept double album, (…) Part One is in keeping with Irish folk acoustic style (with a little punk thrown in for good measure), with songs based around Ireland, and more specifically, the city of Dublin. Part Two will be more of an electric Irish Punk album, with songs based on the United States, and mainly New York City. The Hunger & The Fight narrates the struggle and perseverance of the Irish people, and the evolution of Irish music from Irish Folk to Irish Punk. “ But when I take into account that “The Hunger& The Fight Part 1 ” is a concept album, I can’t avoid thinking that the last two tracks break the continuity of the concept album. OK, they are bonus tracks and then they are value for your money. But I feel that they don’t fit in the concept. So I’ll focus mainly on the other 10 tracks.

The Mahones have been a prolific band in the last 5 years. They have got the recognition that they deserved and all of us (me too) think that Finny is a brilliant songwriter. But, apart from being a kick-ass songwriter, Finny is a sort of magician, a sort of architect that is able to put together different things and make them fit almost perfect. Listening to “The Hunger & The Fight Part 1”, I felt that The Mahones have gone mellower. But after some plays, it was clear that elements from the different albums from The Mahones discography where present all along the album. One of the best features of their previous work “Angels & Devils” was the addition of a couple of instrumentals. Fortunately Finny has decided to open the new album with another one, “Brian Boru’s March”. “Prisoner 1082” is a number on which The Clash influences can be heard. “Someone Saved Me”, a song that I have particularly loved, has that mandolin sound of their early albums. “Blood on the Streets Of Dublin” would have that “Rise Again” album twist too. And, obviously, there are a couple of raucous Celtic punk anthems to sing-a-long, jump, dance or punch the walls, “A Pint of Plain (A Drop of the Pure)” and "St. Patrick’s Day Irish Punk Song". The real “new” thing on this album would be track no. 2, the amazing “The Hunger & The Fight” featuring Tara Slone. Normally I don’t find Finny duets the best songs on The Mahones albums. But this time I must admit that it’s the highlight on the album.

OK, those were the lights. From now on, let’s focus on the shadows. Guests Miranda Mulholland (fiddle), Dave Gossage (Irish flute) and Jonathan Moorman (fiddle) have guested on previous Mahones albums. In fact, I pointed out on my “Angels & Devils” review that Finny should think over adding a fiddler and a flutist/tin whistle player on a permanent basis. Those musicians create an atmosphere on their songs that unfortunately cannot be found on the live gigs. At least I miss them. The official line-up on the album lists Micheal O’Grady as tin whistle player. I hope that he’ll be playing on the European tour as he did some years ago. This would be a great news. Some of you will respond that I should talk about the studio album, not about the live gigs. However, I feel that they are related issues.

Finny is a master of the studio and this time he has produced the album himself together with Dave Baksh (Sum 41) and the mix and master have been made by his fellow Gene Hughes again. There is a sort of dichotomy between the mellower songs and the upbeat numbers. The solution to balance them is a little bit weird: the rocking numbers have got a live treatment. There are a lot of shouts (hey hey!) and a song like “St. Patrick’s Day Irish Punk” is extremely long. This track length would be OK when you are in the mosh pit, but I find a little bit long for a studio take.

Finally, The Mahones make a recurrent error: they keep on recording the Irish standards that The Pogues and many other bands have already covered. I feel that Tonny Duggins does a great job on “Paddy on The Railway” but does the scene really need that one of its heavyweights covers those over-exposed standards? The balance of twelve tracks and only seven original songs is a little bit poor. IMHO, a couple of self-penned songs would have improved the album.

It’s obvious that The Mahones have invested a lot of energy and passion on “The Hunger & The Fight Part 1”. The stakes were high, but I get a slight feeling of déjà vu. Anyway, it’s a very good album that will please The Mahones diehard fan base and the followers that have jumped in in the last years. In other words, it’s not the best Celtic punk album of 2014, but definitely a Top 10 album of the year.